TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Dedicon's review of: Black Rodimus

Name: Rodimus
Allegiance: Black Repaints
Function: NA
Sub-Group: Lucky Draw Repaints

Some time ago, Takara released two versions of Hot Rodimus. One was Crystal Rodimus and the second Black Rodimus; the story going that Megatron created an evil duplicate of Hot Rodimus. Jump forward to the present, and a new Black Rodimus is released. This time, it's a lucky draw with Fire Convoy (a repaint of the Superlink deluxe Convoy.) Unfortunately, this time Takara didn't give Rodimus any bio or even a tech specs card; the only thing that's in the box is the toy itself. Now, onto the review...

Vehicle Mode:
The truck mode of Black Rodimus (for some reason, Takara dropped the 'Convoy' in the name) is black with red wheels/flames/grill/wheels, gray for the smoke stacks, gold for the windows, and yellow for the truck flashlights. All I can say is that it looks plain EVIL. This is how you'd expect a dark warrior to show up: with a black truck and dark red flames painted on it! His gun has also changed from bright orange to dark red, which is a smart choice. The mould is still the same, but it fits the dark image more. (Rodimus is still an Autobot by the way, though from what I understand, the original repaint was an Autobot as well.)

Robot Mode:
Here is where the problem lies. At least for me. While Rodimus maintains the dark image in the other body parts, for some reason Takara left Rodimus's face just the same. Sure, I wasn't expecting the sculpt to be different, but the eyes are still blue. So looking him under a light can really take out the dark look from the toy. But that's my only complaint. Other than that, the toy is perfect. The mould problems that the earlier Rodimus review on the site mentions are non-existent in this incarnation. The plastic of the whole toy is very good quality (as it should be, considering you need to pay 3x-5x more for it.)

Powerlink Mode:
The powerlinks of Rodimus really depend on your choice of linkage. He looks great with Prowl (in both modes) since the color blends nicely. He looks surprisingly good with the smaller Optimus, but ugly with Hotshot and Inferno (in both pants and shirt mode). So it's really a so-so combination. With that said, the toy is better off alone anyway…

Transformation: 7 - It's not complicated, but it is fun for some reason. And though you won't need to look in the instructions (Takara made some great instructions for Superlink, BTW, much better than the Binaltech ones) it's fairly complex.
Durability: 9 - I really can't see anything that can't survive a fall.
Fun: 9 - It can still do all the things energon rodimus could, only with a cooler color scheme.
Price: 5 - The original is in stores now and costs only $10 (well, $20 in Israel) instead of the $50 this one will cost you. With that said, I've seen lucky draws go for much more, and he is going to be rare in a few years, so if you want to buy him, do it now before his price doubles or more.
Summary: 9 - So was it worth $50? For me, this toy is great. I'm a big fan of dark leaders who are supposed to be good guys. So for me, the toy was worth the $50 (shipping included.) In time though, this price will rise. This toy is a lucky draw produced in very limited quantity.